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Minbar Facts for Kids. Kiddle Encyclopedia.
Minbar facts for kids
Minbar in the Ortaköy mosque in Istanbul.
A minbar (also called mimbar sometimes, Arabic: منبر) is a special place in a mosque. It is used by the Imam to speak to the congregation, to deliver sermons. Usually, minbars are raised (to be higher than the crowd, much like pulpits); These sermons are usually called khutbah ( خطبه ). In a minbar, the speaker is standing while he is giving the lecture. An alternative to this is to have a Hussainia where the speaker can sit down while giving the lecture.
Very often, the minbar is shaped like a small tower. The minbar is located to the right of the mihrab, the niche that indicates the direction of prayer (i.e. towards Mecca).
Images for kids
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The doors of the Saladin Minbar, early 1900s. The minbar was built on Nur al-Din's orders, but installed by Saladin
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Minbar of the Molla Çelebi Mosque in Istanbul.
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Picture showing the minbar of the Great Mosque of Kairouan (Mosque of Uqba); this pulpit, the oldest in existence, is still in its place of origin (in the prayer hall of the mosque) and it is protected by a glass panel in order to preserve this precious preaching chair, in Kairouan, Tunisia.
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Muslim scholar Ammar Nakshawani delivering a lecture from a minbar in Dar es Salaam's Hussainia as part of the Ramadan ceremonies.